Digital image correlation method for calculating coefficients of Williams expansion in compact tension specimen

The digital image correlation (DIC) method is used to obtain the coefficients of higher-order terms in the Williams expansion in a compact tension (CT) specimens made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The displacement field is determined by the correlation between reference image (i.e., before deformation) and deformed image. The part of displacements resulting from rigid body motion and rotation is eliminated from the displacement field. For a large number of points in the vicinity of the crack tip, an over-determined set of simultaneous linear equations is collected, and by using the fundamental concepts of the least-squares method, the coefficients of the Williams expansion are calculated for pure mode I conditions. The experimental results are then compared with the numerical results calculated by finite element method (FEM). Very good agreement is shown to exist between the DIC and FE results confirming the effectiveness of the DIC technique in obtaining the coefficients of higher order terms of Williams series expansion from the displacement field around the crack tip.